Raonic faces Federer obstacle on path to Wimbledon glory
There will be an element of revenge in the air on Wednesday when third seed Roger Federer takes on sixth seed Milos Raonic in the men's singles quarter-final on Centre Court.
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The two met in 2016 in the last four and Raonic beat Federer in five sets to advance to his first final at a Grand Slam tournament.
Federer was hampered in the closing stages of the defeat by a knee injury and following Wimbledon, he took the rest of season off to nurse the problem.
The 36-year-old Swiss returned to action in January at the Australian Open where, seeded 14th, he astounded predictions to claim the title. It was his 18th major. Federer then also won the 'sunshine double' of the Indian Wells and Miami Opens. There was also a grass court title at Halle in Germany in June.
Raonic has not enjoyed such success this season but he has been consistent at the Grand Slam events. He reached the last eight in Australia and the last 16 at the French Open.
Wednesday's quarter-final will be his third appearance in the last eight where he will attempt to improve his record against Federer. He has won only three of their 12 meetings and he will go into the latest match on the back of a five set victory over the rising German star Alex Zverev. Federer has yet to drop a set.
"I've not had the most toughest matches," said Federer o nthe eve of the clash with Raonic. "I can look at this quarter-final in a totally relaxed fashion. Physically I'm not fighting anything like last year with my knee."
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